Sunday, December 30, 2012

- Start to think.Meditating or just reflecting on myself could help. Active meditation while running or swimming, relaxation during stretching are great tools to try to focus myself.

- Awareness.Listen to my body. It is sending signals. Hunger, pain, tiredness. They all make sense, just have to pay attention.

- Reeducate my body.Exercising is good. Exercising well is better. Do not forget some muscles. Do the postures using the right muscles. Be precise.

- Reeducate my spirit.We are being told lies. Marketing lies, political lies. Anything that prevent this world to fall apart. Make your own documented guesses. And educate myself. Start reading books again, and not only Google crap.

- We are part of something bigger.Think about the big picture and the world we are living into. We are setting up an example, and every little step matters. In concrete ? Eat less meat and burn less oil.

Friday, December 28, 2012

- Fears drives Me. Having a goal that I choose myself to pick my own path.
- Accountability forces you to stick to your plan. Publicly announce my goals.
- Dreams are accessible. Just have to make the choices according to.

Life as a surfer started really in SoCal.

Here, San Onofre, Trails.

I will write a blog, to be
- a journal
- a driving force
- a public statement
- an introspection tool

Thursday, December 27, 2012

We are close to the end of 2012. I am quite happy with my perseverance. Goals are nowhere close to be achieved, however, I do believe I am now ready to start work on those."Persistence is one of the most praised traits of people pursuing success — at anything. We’ve all heard inspirational stories of someone who continually failed at a pursuit, yet persisted undeterred until the goal was achieved". Brendan Brazier.

I am fittest than ever I have been. Even if I still feel time to time this pain in the groin, I know believe I have the tools to eventually get rid of it entirely, and overall, I reached a level of training I was not capable 3 month ago. I can swim for at least 50 minutes, run for more than one hour and kite or surf for a decent one hour and half. I think I have now the tools that will allow me to pursue my dreams.
To be comfortable in double overhead conditions.

Kanaha on a Big day

"We were fine with not having dreams. We’d come to the conclusion long ago that dreaming about something was never going to make it happen. However we were not okay with not having goals. Goals that excited us, goals that we genuinely wanted to achieve. Which is why, five years later, we are circumnavigators."
Bumfuzzle - Just Out Looking For Pirates by Patrick Schulte

For the time being, it is likely I will do a quick retrospective of those past month and summarize the key points that made me evolve.

Saturday, December 22, 2012

Eventually, you will figure by yourself or using an online calculator, but on the last 30 days, I lost 5 pounds. which means 5*3500 = 17500 Calories. Bring that back per day, it is 590 calories a day. According to my target (2100 calories /day), I lost 715 calories per average. I can safely deduce that my target of 2100 calories a day is a little optimistic, and my actual daily needs are more around 2000 calories a day (or below).

My goal is basically to NOT diet. Yeah. We will come back to this subject , But as I already told often enough Exercising to not make you lose weight. However, If you are targeting your ideal food consumption based on a day WITHOUT exercises, Any exercise you do, will help you lose weight.
The key point is : I am exercising every day, rain or shine, and try to burn at least 400 to 500 calories, which usually means 45 minutes workout, or one hour of kiting/ surfing.

I think I could easily reduce my food consumption of 200 calories here and there. But I do not really want to, because I want to get used to my daily meal. I am trying to get a sense of what I have to eat, without counting calories. Eventually, I want to stop losing weight, but go into weight maintenance mode. For that, knowing your ideal food calories count without counting is key. And you know, what it is working. Counting or not, I am still on target and still losing weight, As you can see on those graphs.

“The danger is that other idiots may see this story as a recipe for taking off across oceans without basic knowledge, common sense, or a well-prepared vessel.” This theme was often repeated in the online cruising forum community, and was applauded by many. Well, the truth is, we hope that this book will do just that. I like to think of it as idiot encouragement. Take a chance in life. Set a goal for yourself and make it happen."

Thursday, December 20, 2012

Past couple of weeks, I have been swimming a lot. I still prefer to run, but swimming has been good to me. Until today. Good, because I do believe it helped to strength my abs and glutes, in a gentle but constant way. Plus, it is a good endurance activity that is not hard on the joints. And here, pools are free, and open sky. And free of sharks.

Laps booster

Anyway, today, I tried to "push it a little bit" and swam faster than usual. I ended up to have very painful stomach cramps like 10 minutes after the swim. Some Googling after, I ran to the pharmacy and buy this:

Life saver.

I literally crawl into the pharmacy, curved by pain. Took two pills and two minutes after, was totally relieved.

What happened here ?

Breathing. Seems to be a common issue in swimmer-to-become. If you are not relax, or your swimming /breathing patterns are not perfect, (Inhale and exhale slowly - under and above the water. In the correct order). you may eat Air, Literally. You will take air into your stomach. Always thought this pain was because drinking too much of the pool. Well, it could be. But this one was for real.

Wednesday, December 19, 2012

I never really started the full somatic serie, but i enjoyed the morning stretch. After years of battle, I finally decided to give a shot to Yoga (I should have started years ago). A small shot, I concede. We will see.

Anyway, for the time being, my morning strecht and wake up will be around the idea of the famous "Sun Salutations".

As I am feeling better overall, it is harder and harder to keep with the exercises and daily stretches. However, I know how important is it to keep on going. My guess is a routine, easy to follow and well defined will do the trick for the morning.

the serie

I know, I know. If you read this blog, you already should think it took me a long time to go to this Yoga thing. Truth is, this is kind of my wife playground. Unconsciously, I guess I was reluctant to join. Only idiots refuse to change their mind.

Monday, December 17, 2012

That day, I remember was my first out on my new paddleboard in 8+ waves. Way more easy than surfing, I was still at the limit of my comfort zone ;)

Nowadays, it is so windy , it is not even fun anymore. Almost lost my board last week end. Ended up to be a good workout and a good swim to go pick it in shark infested water ;). My 6m collapsed under the gusts and deflated itself after a crash.

What is a kitemare ? It has been so long I did not happen to me, I almost forgot.

Self rescue, with no wind.

With 50mph winds and 6 feet waves, it was another story :). I ended up in the "bone yard". Name is chosen for a reason. (this is where the current bring all the stuff, if you are lucky).

Murky water, or breaking waves...

.. are good spots for sharks. Specially, at the entrance of the harbor, where attacks have been quite frequents. You should have seen me swimming for my board - and my life -- I think that was the fastest 200m back and forth I ever did ;)

It is not like there was no shark activity on Maui those past few month.

Saturday, December 15, 2012

Discussing with a friend, another related injury in the psoas / back pain family.

"Piriformis syndrome is a neuromuscular disorder that occurs when the sciatic nerve is compressed or otherwise irritated by the piriformis muscle causing pain, tingling and numbness in the buttocks and along the path of the sciatic nervedescending down the lower thigh and into the leg."http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piriformis_syndrome

"When piriformis syndrome is caused by weak abductors combined with tight adductors, a highly effective and easy treatment includes stretching and strengthening these muscle groups. An exercise regimen targeting the gluteus medius and hip abductor muscle groups can alleviate symptoms of piriformis syndrome within days."
No surprises here, daily stretches and strengthening are the answer. After some R.I.C.E..

Thursday, December 13, 2012

Weirdly enough, When I travel for work, I usually lose weight. Those time, I do not count calories. I approximate. Which is kind of a traumatic experience for an engineer, I concede. Surprising enough, It seems I am eating less than at home. My first guess is , when I am counting calories at Home, If i come short at night time, I will indulge myself with some cookie, glass of wine, anything to bring me close to the target.

Starbuck bistro box : 480 calories

On the opposite, when I am eating outside, I am always a little afraid to over eat, and ends up, even without conscious restriction except than some common sense, to eat less certainly. Knowing the food helps. Who would have guesses that there is almost 500 calories in a small starbuck proteins box ? And this should be my lunch ;)

Another thing that helps is that nowadays every hotel got a fitness cage. Usually small, and deserted, those are usually open 24/24, and it is easy in those boring stay to find one hour to go run and do some work.

Argonaut's "fitness center"

Paradoxically, being out of home free at lot of time, and I certainly exercise more than usual.

Last but not least, the five fingers packs super easy and I can take them all the time, even in the smallest bag.

"Then came what I like to call the Run (...) So instead of turning back after thirty minutes as I’d planned, I kept running, with a mind switched off but a spirit fully engaged. At two hours in, I was painlessly cruising over rolling grasslands above Brentwood and the famed Getty Museum, without a soul in sight.(...) A moment later the realization hit—I was still running away from my truck! (...) It let me know not just that I’d be okay, but that I was on the right track—that, in fact, this wasn’t just a run. It was the beginning of a new life. I did turn around, eventually, even though I really didn’t want to.(...)For a guy who hadn’t run more than a few easy miles in countless years, it was remarkable.(...) It wasn’t until much later that I’d fully appreciate the extent and impact of the morning. But as I showered the grit and grime from my worn legs that afternoon, my body hummed with excitement and possibility. And without conscious thought, a huge grin spread across my face. In this moment I knew one thing for certain: I’d soon be seeking a challenge—and it would be a big one."
After this he went for the Ultra Man experience. Not sure I will follow him there, it looks a little out of my league. For now.

The ULTRAMAN WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS are an athletic odyssey of personal rediscovery; as such, they are the next step in the endurance challenge of being human. Covering a total distance of 320 miles (515 kilometers), on the big island of Hawaii, they require that each participant complete a 6.2 mile (10 K) open ocean swim, a 261.4 mile (421 K) cross-country bike ride, and a 52.4 mile (84K) ultra-marathon run.

And you have to pay for it. $1500. And this is on invitations only. Only the 35 bests. OMG.

Tuesday, December 11, 2012

Last week, while in San Francisco for work, I woke up early (like all the others days in fact), And went for a small run. Did not have any plan, just wanted to run along the docks. Ended up to push it through the golden gate pillar. Only issue, I was already 40 minutes in, which is usually my limit, and had to come back.

I forgot how beautiful the Bay was

I guess I was just following the pace and enjoying the view. My only concern was for my hip. Would it hold ? And it did. After stretching, I felt more my sore muscles and foot skin blisters than anything else. I thought I was cured. Well, the day after, I could still feel it, then I revisited this opinion by : It is way better. I can now run 7 miles at a 5 mph pace (which is quite slow, I agree). However, running 80 minutes is way more than I Ever did in a long long time.

Monday, December 10, 2012

My wife asked me to do a real post for a change. She suspected I did not have anything else to say. How wrong. I have always some fears to share ;)

How long will I have to do this diet ? All my life ? Will I be struggling for the rest of my life with food ? Will that have to become part of me ?

Quick answer is : No. :)

The only goal of the diet is to bring me to my "ideal" weight, and from there, to keep it. The reason is obvious, if you have to stick to a weight for the rest of your life, why not pick 155lbs instead of 180lbs ? It became an evidence to me that I will have to do some weight management in any case. You cannot just gain weight over and over, a couple of pounds every year. That was happening to me those last 5 or 6 years. Insidious. One pound every year, give or take. Slow and unconscious process. Now that I understood, OK, I will have to hold to my weight, it became obvious, Well, let s make sure that we make this worth it, let s stay to a weight that is ideal.

In fact, in a book about running, that was the first comment : It is way easier to run light than heavy. Then, If you want to lose weight, do not try to train and lose weight afterward. Lose weight now, and starts to train when you are light enough to not damage your joints and overall body structure. I told this already, but any sport that is hard on the joint should not be the first one you pick to try to be "back in shape". Running is bad for joints. Runners are one of the most injured category of all. Try swimming. cycling. Even steps seems to me to save your joints.

But again, weight management is not about doing exercise. Weight management is all about to learn about food, daily needs, and hunger management.

"Appetite is important. It is your body’s built-in mechanism for food intake regulation, and its job is to drive you to eat enough to meet your body’s energy and micronutrient needs, and no more. The appetite mechanism works very well under normal circumstances, having survived millions of years of evolutionary testing to the benefit of our health. But our modern lifestyle does not constitute “normal circumstances” in relation to the environment in which most of our evolution took place. Consequently, we can’t rely entirely on our appetite to ensure that we don’t overeat."by Matt Fitzgerald

Racing Weight: How to Get Lean for Peak Performance

And the beauty of the thing is eventually, you get used to eat less. The body is a wonderful thing. It can adapt to eating too much, and it can adapt to eat just enough.

Training seen from an adaptation perspective:

Training results in fatigue. Following the fatigue phase, a period of recovery and then supercompensation follows. If training does not occur, then a return to baseline fitness follows (adapted from Selye, 1956).